


Seeds, Watered with Malcontent (Yet-Another-Tale)

by coolcat001100



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Literature, Romance, fan fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2019-05-28 18:03:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15054764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolcat001100/pseuds/coolcat001100
Summary: Another fic based on KatelynntheG's Yet-Another-Tale.It's pretty easy to tell that this one was inspired by the hilarious "PTA Sans" gags in the Undertale fandom, and as a matter of fact, after finding some really cool art of Asriel imitating Flowey's facial expressions a while back, Kate and I had imagined him using them a bit when scared or angry, especially if Frisk or Skie were being insulted or hurt. Many of these were just initial ideas that I was toying around with at first, but what ultimately made me decide to write a fic surrounding these ideas was something that happened a lot more recently.We had discovered a fanfic that was pretty bad for multiple reasons, one of them being portraying the characters acting completely out of... well, character. One in particular was Asriel, who was shown getting very quick to anger and even violence within seconds of hearing that something small and inconsequential had happened to someone he barely even knew. As laughably bad as it was, it did cause me to wonder what it would be like to write a scene where he does lose his cool and even escalates the situation to violence in a way that feels believable. That was essentially the deciding factor in causing me to sit down and write this, although you know I had to include some fluff near the end as well.As well as Frisk being a savage, of course, because you know that when someone as kind as her wants to tear into someone, she pulls no punches.Also, when I was writing the scene where Asriel loses his cool,this songkept playing in my mind, so... I guess I now kinda consider it the unofficial theme of unhinged Asriel.





	Seeds, Watered with Malcontent (Yet-Another-Tale)

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic based on KatelynntheG's Yet-Another-Tale.
> 
> It's pretty easy to tell that this one was inspired by the hilarious "PTA Sans" gags in the Undertale fandom, and as a matter of fact, after finding some really cool art of Asriel imitating Flowey's facial expressions a while back, Kate and I had imagined him using them a bit when scared or angry, especially if Frisk or Skie were being insulted or hurt. Many of these were just initial ideas that I was toying around with at first, but what ultimately made me decide to write a fic surrounding these ideas was something that happened a lot more recently.
> 
> We had discovered a fanfic that was pretty bad for multiple reasons, one of them being portraying the characters acting completely out of... well, character. One in particular was Asriel, who was shown getting very quick to anger and even violence within seconds of hearing that something small and inconsequential had happened to someone he barely even knew. As laughably bad as it was, it did cause me to wonder what it would be like to write a scene where he does lose his cool and even escalates the situation to violence in a way that feels believable. That was essentially the deciding factor in causing me to sit down and write this, although you know I had to include some fluff near the end as well.
> 
> As well as Frisk being a savage, of course, because you know that when someone as kind as her wants to tear into someone, she pulls no punches.
> 
> Also, when I was writing the scene where Asriel loses his cool, [this song](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMXy3mYzkws) kept playing in my mind, so... I guess I now kinda consider it the unofficial theme of unhinged Asriel.

"Asriel? You still with us?"

Asriel suddenly jolted awake, his mind coming back into focus. He looked over at Frisk.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."

Frisk gave him a smile, and then went back to the discussion at hand. When he was sure no one was looking at him again, Asriel tried to get his mind back on track.

He was at a PTA meeting, he remembered. Another doggone meeting in what seemed to be a never-ending month of meetings in his life. Work as the Prince had been especially busy as of late, to the point where he would've perfectly believed it if someone told him that god just decided to randomly make this month a very complicated one for the world. All sorts of new developments had been happening recently, from the rise of advancements in human and monster technology to the new hot topic of human/monster hybrids on the rise... and his training preparing him to be king was still going on in the midst of all this. Overall, quite the cherry to add on top of the stress sundae his mind had been eating for the past while.

Then again, perhaps he wasn't alone in this. After all, Frisk's ambassador duties were surely compounded on by the new issues as well, and she still seemed to be putting her full effort into improving things with this meeting.

Or maybe not. He was having a hard time paying attention, after all.  
Still, he wished he could bring in his full attention with this one. Ever since Skie was born, he and Frisk knew that eventually they'd have to start planning to enroll her in school, and the sooner they started learning how things are done in the PTA, the better. Just being the children of one of the former teachers wouldn't be enough. Thankfully, things seemed to be going well so far. He just had to ask Frisk later what he missed, and he was sure he'd get all the info he needed.

"So with all that being said," Frisk began to wrap up what she was talking about, "I think it would greatly behoove everyone if we started figuring out a way to match the teaching of human history alongside the teaching of monster history."

There were murmers of agreement and consideration around the table. The school principal, Mrs. Dodds, smiled. "Thank you for discussing this topic with us, Mrs. Dreemurr. We'll start thinking about how to potentially improve our teaching methods with these subjects." She turned to another person at the table. "Now then, Mrs. Schwartz, I believe there was something you wanted to talk about."

"Thank you, Mrs. Dodds," she began. "Now, this is something I think we should've started talking about a long time ago, and at this point it's now or never. Ever since human/monster hybrids have started existing, some have been wondering about potentially enrolling them in our schools."

Asriel's ears perked up. He had been paying especially close to the discussion of hybrids, both on the job and off. Perhaps there was something in this meeting that wouldn't make the whole thing blend in with all the other meetings he had been attending lately after all.

"Now, I know that some have raised the argument that it would be better to accept them into the classrooms sooner rather than later. However, many others, including myself, feel that the time to do so has not come just yet. They are still new to this world, and the potential risks are too great. We need to observe what these things are like first before we can even consider the possibility."

Asriel had already started tensing up when Mrs. Schwartz revealed what kind of stance she had on the issue, but what would've been a steady incline of discontent suddenly took several steps forward when he heard her referring to hybrids as "things". Something in his mind wouldn't let him stop thinking of Skie when he heard that, and how he could barely imagine seeing her as anything less than the light of his life, much less someone who couldn't even be referred to as a person.

He suddenly took his elbows off the table and sat up straight, having a response ready and already preparing for whatever she would say next. "Excuse me, I'd like to interject, if I may."

Mrs. Dodds looked over at her. "Were you finished with what you were saying?"

Mrs. Schwartz waved her off. "No, but I'm curious to hear this. Perhaps it'll allow me to explain my other points in a more engaging way."

Frisk looked over at him, anticipating what he was about to say. Asriel took a deep breath.

"I know that there is still a lot to be learned with these children, but we cannot sacrifice their education in order to take precautions we probably won't even need. Helping them learn at an early age is something very important, and refusing to do it would be harmful to their development."

Everyone else at the table seemed to be taking in what he was saying, but Mrs. Schwartz was already taking in a breath to respond. Almost as if she had been anticipating this. "Yes, education is important, but these precautions are far from something we don't need, and refusing to take them could be blatantly ignorant. We don't know how they could possibly take in lessons compared to normal children, or even what they could be capable of."

Asriel tensed up even more. "What they could be capable of? They're just children! They're children like any of yours!" Asriel waved his hand around the table, motioning towards the other humans and monsters who were listening. 

Mrs. Schwartz continued. "I'm sorry, Mr. Dreemurr, but they are not like any of ours. They are new creatures entirely, with new genetic makeups, and placing them with our children is far too early to do by this point."

Asriel felt his stomach turn. It was that sickening feeling in his gut one would get when someone says something they knew to be unquestionably true, yet is still surrounded by other words that he knew equally well to be unfathomably idiotic.

"Are you implying that they could be threats to the other children? That's preposterous! These are children!"

"They are still a new concept to this world, and we have too much at stake to start trusting them completely this early."

"If I may," Frisk began, "humans were saying the same things about monsters when they first reentered society, and we still accepted their children into our schools then. I see no reason why we shouldn't do so again."

Asriel's chest relaxed a little. It was good to remember that he wasn't alone on this.

Yet Mrs. Schwartz had more to say. "I am aware of what happened years ago, and the truth is that the debate is still going on over whether or not that was the right decision to make. Regardless, that was a scenario where humans at least knew a little about monsters. This is the first time hybrids have ever existed. They are completely alien to this world, and we cannot throw caution to the wind when our children are involved."

At last, Asriel couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, placing his hands on the table, and looked at Mrs. Schwartz with anger. "What, so they're alien now?! Are you calling my daughter an alien?!"

"I didn't say anything like that, Mr. Dreemurr-"

"It sure sounds like it to me! What, so just because they're different they need to be treated as 'things' that could harm your 'normal' children?! I know my daughter well, and I can tell you that she would never-"

"Now is not the time to be choking on pride over your experiment, Mr. Dreemurr!" she interrupted. "This is a scenario where everyone's well-being needs to be taken into consideration, not just your hybrid!"

There was nothing Asriel could say in response to this. His mind was too clogged up with raw emotions to let new sentences take form.

There was an awkward silence as he kept angrily staring at her, and slowly sat down. Mrs. Dodds cleared her throat. "Well, I think now would be a good time to take a break. You all know where the refreshments are."

Everyone split up to go grab the various snacks that had been brought to the meeting. As Asriel got up, Frisk touched his shoulder.

"Az, are you okay?"

He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

It seemed to work for now, but the look on her face when she left told him that it hadn't given her a satisfying answer.

The truth was that he wasn't okay. A lot of what he had been paying attention to about the topic of hybrids contained many disapproving voices, people who more or less had been saying the exact same things that the lady at the table had been saying earlier. Seeing so much of it had already started to get to him, but something about seeing someone right in front of him spew such ignorance had managed to get right under his skin. He had done a good job of containing his anger about the whole thing so far, but now he knew that the floodgates were coming dangerously close to being undone.

He tried to focus on the snacks he had gotten, but something in his mind just wouldn't let him forget about it. The more he tried to ignore it, the more he thought about it, and the more he thought about it, the angrier it made him. His chest seemed a lot heavier all of a sudden, every breath of air now feeling like a luxury. He looked over and saw the woman heading into the bathrooms. An old instinct started taking over in his mind...

...

Gertrude Schwartz made sure to get every single part of her hands rinsed in the bathroom sink. Palms, knuckles, even the rims of her fingernails. She was aware that it probably ended up taking more time than it would usually take someone to wash their hands after using the bathroom, but she placed being thorough above being quick.

After all, if you wanted to cover something, you had to make sure every little part was scrutinized.

While she did her regular business, she had time to reflect on what had happened out in the main room. She knew right from the start that there would probably be conflict when she brought up the whole thing, and some of it might feel personal as well, but she didn't regret saying it. She felt that the importance of the health and safety of the school's children and faculty would always come first, and the prince's anger would be quickly forgotten in the long run. Everybody wins, really.

Suddenly, she heard banging on the door. "Occupied," she said, not even bothering to turn her head.

The banging continued. "There's someone in here!" she said, a bit more forceful this time.

It still went on. Irritated, she stopped scrubbing her hands for a moment and turned towards the door. "Look, I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to wait your turn-"

Before she could finish that thought, the door was slammed in, the lock broken off by the sudden force. She jumped in surprise, expecting it to have been snapped off by some robber, or crazed lunatic, or maybe even some wandering pervert, but instead-

"HEEEERE'S AZZY!"

The prince was standing in the door frame... but somehow Gertrude felt as though her eyes were deceiving her. There's no way that could've been him. It just couldn't. It had most of his appearance down perfectly, from his clothes to his fur... but the rest felt so wrong. There were the more obvious parts, such as the thorned vines that were coiled around his arms and legs, but even those didn't betray him as much as the changes on his face.

His grin was completely unlike anything she would've expected to see on Asriel. It was so wide and toothy, it looked like the effort from making it would've hurt any other person. Before, she had come to accept his fangs as something small that gave his face an odd sort of distinction. She couldn't have guessed that they would've looked anywhere near as threatening as they did now.

But worst of all were his eyes. By the gods, the eyes. She knew from the very moment she gazed upon them that she would never be able to forget those eyes again. His usual soft, blue eyes had turned into a terrifying combination of green and red, and nothing about them seemed right. She could practically feel them piercing into her very soul, as if having to see them alone was punishment enough for every wrongdoing she had committed.

All of this went through her mind in a split second right before she screamed in horror. Just as she turned to run away, Asriel swept his hand forward, and vines burst from the ground, wrapping themselves around her legs. She immediately moved her arms to try to yank at them, when suddenly the water in the faucet shut off, and the stream of water was replaced with another vine that lashed forward and gripped her arm.

Asriel slowly walked forward, fire starting to form in the palm of his hand. Unable to look into his face any more, Gertrude turned away and looked into the mirror. In it, she saw her own horrified expression - the look of a helpless animal right before the slaughter.

Suddenly, she heard a voice. "Asriel?!"

The prince froze when he recognized who it belonged to. Gertrud instinctively turned in its direction, forcing her to look at his face again. Though his look didn't change much, she noticed a streak of surprise and discomfort across it.

She then saw Frisk walk through the door frame, stopping just before she reached him. Though she looked worried, her face had an odd sort of concern on it. "Asriel!" she yelled again.

He turned to face her, snarling as the vines on his body writhed and slithered. Now Frisk  
would be at his mercy as well. What would she do? Would she run? Scream for help? Attack out of desperation?

None of them, as it turned out. Instead, she stepped forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Asriel, look at me!!!" she shouted.

Immediately, something stopped in his mind. His face seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, slowly, his entire body seemed to change. The fire died out in his hand, and the vines on his body and around Gertrude started retracting. His face fell, and the grimace melted away. His eyes returned to their normal color, and now started getting wet with tears.

"...F-Frisk..."

"Asriel..."

Then, he collapsed forward into Frisk's embrace, wrapping his arms tight around her. His breathing had become unsteady, constantly taking quick, soft gasps of breath through his tears.

"F-Frisk... I- I didn't... I c-couldn't... I- I..."

"Shh, Asriel..."

She rubbed his back as he wept softly into her shoulder. She nestled the side of her head into his and breathed deeply.

"Sorry... I'm... I'm s-so... sorr-"

"Asriel, shh... I'm here..."

After a bit, she let him go and looked into his eyes, their sorrow reflected in hers. "Come on," she said, rubbing his shoulders, "It's going to be fine."

She put his arm around him and led him out of the bathroom. As Gertrude watched them walk away, she suddenly became aware of how sore her legs were.

...

Frisk led Asriel down the hall away from the bathroom, trying to get to a spot far enough away from the meeting room. When she was sure they were distant enough from prying eyes and wandering ears, she knelt down on the floor, having Asriel join her. She figured if she was going to have a serious discussion like this with him, he might as well not have to worry about standing while letting his feelings out.

"Asriel..."

"F-Frisk..." he stuttered, trying to wipe the tears from his eyes, "I'm so- sorry... I didn... I'm just-"

"Az," Frisk said softly, gripping his shoulders, "don't worry about that right now. What's been going on lately?"

"Wh... what do you mean?"

"Something's been bothering you for a while now," she explained, "I can tell. No one just lashes out like that without something else behind it."

Asriel swallowed, hoping he could get through his words all right without losing the will to explain halfway through. "I... I've been seeing a lot of people like her lately. People who... don't like hybrids. I mean, there's been plenty of approval as well, but it seems like I keep finding those other people when the topic gets brought up. I guess it's just been on my mind a lot lately."

Sadness entered Frisk's heart, making its way onto her face... but also bringing a comforting sense of understanding as well. "You've had to deal with those kinds of people too, huh?"

"Yeah," Asriel sniffed. "I mean, not just as the Prince, but whenever I see it talked about on the news or whatever, I just keep seeing these people saying the worst things about them. And whenever I hear it, I just can't stop thinking of Skie! What if she knew what they were saying as well? What if they could see our daughter right in front of them, Frisk?!"

He came dangerously close to breaking down again there. Better to stop talking now, before it became too much to hold back.

"Oh, Asriel," Frisk said, "Why haven't you talked to me about this before? If it was bothering you so much, why didn't you want to talk about it?"

Asriel swallowed again and rubbed his face. "Because I didn't want you to see how much it was getting to me, Frisk. Even I'll admit that it's been bothering me too much. There have been times when I've... gotten seriously angry about it."

Frisk took a moment to let him get comfortable with finally confessing this new information. Then she smiled softly and cupped his face in her hand. "Az... that's perfectly fine."

Asriel blinked the tears out of his eyes. "Re... really?"

"Of course! It's okay to be angry, Asriel, just as long as you don't let it eat you up inside," Frisk said. "Holding in your feelings isn't worth it if they're just going to do this to you. You've got plenty of people who understand, and we want to help you no matter what."

Asriel stared at Frisk for a moment, letting this information wash over his mind.

"I promise I'll listen to you, Az. I don't like seeing you this distressed."

He looked into his wife's face for a few more seconds. By the gods, was she beautiful.

He leaned forward, and she accepted his form into a tight embrace. They sat like that for about a minute. The sound of each other breathing was the only thing they could hear.

Eventually, Frisk spoke up. "How about we leave the meeting early tonight? We'll tell Mrs. Dodds that something important family-related came up. We technically won't be lying."

Asriel took a deep breath. "Yeah... I'd like that. I don't think there was anything else we had to talk about anyway."

"There wasn't. Besides, I'd rather spend it cuddled with you watching those episodes of It's Always Sunny you wanted to see anyway."

Asriel smiled. "Now that's something I'm always up for."

...

Frisk finished saying her farewell to Mrs. Dodds. She was sad to see them go so soon, but understood and didn't protest further. When she asked why Asriel's eyes looked red, Frisk quickly explained that he had accidentally gotten some dust in his eyes earlier. She wasn't sure how convincing it sounded, but it wouldn't be nearly as conspicuous as saying that her husband had an emotional breakdown and almost attacked one of the parents in the bathroom. Thankfully, she seemed to buy it just fine. 

Just as they started heading towards the entrance, Asriel decided to quickly go back to get the leftovers of the pie they had brought. Frisk let him go grab it, looking forward to possibly having it later. Soon after he walked off, however, she noticed Mrs. Schwartz nearby, looking rather sullen.

Several feelings started roiling up in Frisk's gut. All of which were telling her that a confrontation with Mrs. Schwartz was required.

She briskly walked over. "Excuse me," she began. Mrs. Schwartz turned to face her, discomfort written all over her. "What do you want?" she asked.

Frisk took a deep breath. "Well, first of all, I'd like to apologize for what happened earlier. I'll admit things got a bit out of hand."

"Hmph," Mrs. Schwartz snorted. "You're both on thin ice here. The only reason I'm not pressing charges against him is because I've got far more important things going on to worry about, and I'd rather not complicate my life even further by having people thinking I'm trying to denounce their precious Prince."

Frisk bit back a growl of her own. At least the second part of what she wanted to say wouldn't be so hard. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't point your finger at only him."

Mrs. Schwartz got a look of distaste on her face. "Are you implying that this is somehow my fault?!"

"You acting completely disrespectful earlier, Gertrude," Frisk said. "You were making everyone uncomfortable, and you chose to escalate things even further."

"Excuse me," she retorted, "but I think your husband was the one who needed to get less riled up about it."

"You were specifically trying to get under his skin," Frisk continued. "You wouldn't have said those things about our daughter if that wasn't the case."

"Oh, please," she scoffed, "we've got far more important things to worry about than how one of us feels. If he really wanted to get upset about something, how about the fact that the air conditioning in that room is still broken? Maybe then he'd have something worthwhile to put his kingly riches into."

Frisk took a moment, inhaled... and gave her a smile. "Come on," she pleasantly said, "If you're cold, can't you just snuggle into your husband's body fluff for warmth?"

"No," Mrs. Schwartz started, "because unlike you, I keep to my own species."

"Oh, that's right!" Frisk chuckled, the grin still on her face. "You don't have a husband at all. He left you, because not even he could warm up your cold, dead heart."  
...  
Suddenly, the only thing in the room Gertrude could hear was the sound of her pen dropping as she absentmindedly let it go.

Just as it hit the ground, Asriel walked over. He had a calm, pleasant look on his face - the look of someone who finally had some breathing room after letting go of a heavy, terrible weight.

"Hey, sweetie, I got what's left of the pie, and Mrs. Dodds even said we could take some of the pretzels she made as well."

"That's great, Az!" Frisk said. "Come on, I think it's time we headed home."

"I highly agree."

She placed a hand on his shoulder and then planted a kiss on his cheek. Chuckling, he returned the favor. Then they started walking away towards the exit, Frisk taking Asriel's hand in hers. As she did, she turned her head over her shoulder and gave Gertrude one last look.

In that moment, Mrs. Schwartz felt something fall off inside her.  



End file.
